W.Green, G.Swanborough The Complete Book of Fighters

SPAD S.XIV France

Based on the fuselage and engine/armament combination of the S.XII, with the 37-mm Puteaux cannon firing through the hollow propeller shaft, the S.XIV was a single-seat twin-float fighter designed by Andre Herbemont, Bechereau’s assistant. Powered by the 220 hp Hispano-Suiza 8Bc engine and armed with a single 7,7-mm Vickers machine gun in addition to the cannon, the S.XIV had long-span wings with true two-bay bracing, and the prototype was flown for the first time on 15 November 1917. SPAD built a further 39 S.XIVs for the Aviation Maritime, their floats being manufactured by Levasseur. The recorded maximum level speed of this fighter was claimed as a record for float-equipped aircraft at that time.

Last in the line of wartime SPAD single-seat fighters of Bechereau origin, the S.XXIV was developed as a carrier-based fighter for France’s Aviation Maritime. Flown for the first time on 5 November 1918, the S.XXIV was a wheel undercarriage-equipped version of the S.XIV twin-float fighter seaplane that had flown almost a year earlier. The tardiness in developing the S.XXIV apparently resulted in the discontinuation of further development at an early stage in flight testing. Like the S.XIV, the S.XXIV was powered by a 220 hp Hispano-Suiza 8Bc engine and was intended to be fitted with a similar armament. No performance data are available.